Welcome to News and Views
News of new commissions and projects, commentary on hot communication issues, tips and tricks for corporate writers. All the good stuff is coming here! Do call by occasionally and see what we’re up to. It can be fun, furious, celebratory or critical, light or heavy. I really all depends on what is going on in the big ‘out there’. This is a new blog so it will probably take a while for news of it to spread and responses to develop, but do spread the word if you find it interesting and let’s see what develops.
A picture paints what…!…?
It happened again this week. Trying to explain why we should give particular attention to a piece of content because it came at a critical point in the site visitor’s journey towards a buying decision, and the client interjected with…
“A picture paints a thousand words”
It’s time to uproot this pernicious little weed of an idea.
Read the Article – A picture paints what?
What use is a website to a local business?
So many local businesses, especially retail service businesses, like plumbers, hairdressers and so on, rely solely on personal recommendations to get new customers. This means that your marketing relies upon other people’s accidents of conversation. Mary happens to meet Angela, Angela happens to comment on Mary’s hair, Mary happens to be in the mood to talk about her hairdresser, her hairdresser happens to be you. Bingo! Four accidents in a row and you just got a recommendation.
But surely your website can’t actively draw in new customers can it? Perhaps you have a single location, a shop in Yourtown, what is the point of promoting your business on the interenet when 99.9999% of people who might see it couldn’t possibly access your service?
Yes, your website can attract people local to you who have never heard of you, and it can be extraordinarily effective.
Login and see how
This article is in the free Subscriber’s Section
Bad news can be good for business
How you deal with negative news can turn a potential disaster into a hugely positive step forward.
Subscribe and see how
This article is in the free Subscriber’s section.
Probably the shortest post ever… yet
This isn’t really a blog post, it’s a small explosion. I have been pressing for better understanding of the function of the brand for many years now. Progress is uneven, as it is with so many ideas that are believed by many to be abstract but in fact are utterly concrete. So it went again today with a nameless potential client. I left that conversation with a powerful desire to go stand at the top of the nearest hill and shout the point to a bewildered world. Well, there were no hills around, so this will have to do instead.
After an hour with someone who would only discuss the brand of his company in terms of his competitors… it just had to be said bluntly.
Your brand is not primarily a tool to distinguish you from your competitors. It is fundamentally a tool for getting close to your customers and your publics. Your relationship over against your competitors will be a product of this, not the cause of it. Do it your way and you will only ever develop this company as if it were to be seen only in comparison to others. They will define you. Do it right and you will become the one the others are compared with.
Melodramatic
We’re delighted to be working with the creative musical hot-house, Melodramatic, to create their new website. Melodramatic are the label and producers for Amy Macdonald, whose new album has already hit the European Number 1 spot and sold more than half a million copies in less than three weeks. The site should be up and running within the next couple of weeks. We’ll post a link when it is launched.
